This invention relates to methods for treating sarcoidosis.
Sarcoidosis is a chronic lung disease of unknown etiology, which is believed to occur when the body's immune system overreacts to an unknown agent. Some authors have noted an association with HLA types B8 and B27 with various manifestations of the disease suggesting that genetic factors may be involved.
It is often described as incidentall finding as hilar adenopathy on a routine chest x-ray of an asymptomatic individual. The most common clinical findings of sarcoidosis is cough, followed by dyspnea, wheezing and hemoptysis. Auscultation of the lungs is usually unremarkable unless extensive fibrosis is present. Other organs may be involved, with granulomas found in the liver, heart, spleen and bone marrow in nearly half the cases. Eye, skin and salivary glands are involved in about one-third of the cases. Hypercalcemia and hypercalciurea occur in 20-30% of patients and may occasionally result in urolithiasis.
The clinical course is benign in most cases. Fortunately, nearly 70 percent of the afflicted patients will experience a remission. However, about 50 percent of patients have some permanent residual organ damage, and 20-25 percent of the patients have some abnormality pulmonary function. More disturbingly, up to 10% develop progressive fibrosis; and 5 percent of people with sarcoidosis die. Sarcoidosis that involves the heart is the cause of death in 50% of cases.
The current treatment for sarcoidosis starts with steroids. However, in intractable cases, other immunosuppressive therapies have been tried with variable success. Steroids have side effects, and long-term use can result in resistance to the treatment. Stronger immunosuppressive agents can be used, but they also have undesirable effects since an impaired immune system is the main effect.
Accordingly improved therapies for sarcoidosis are needed.